Bollore's 5.7 billion asset deals implicated in money laundering; Morgan Stanley (MS.US) and other institutions sued

Morgan Stanley (MS.US) may be involved in a money laundering investigation in France due to its participation in the sale of African logistics assets owned by French billionaire Vincent Bollor. The African Assets Recovery Alliance (RAF) has requested the Paris court to compel Morgan Stanley's French branch to hand over internal documents and is considering whether to file criminal charges against the bank under French law. RAF is seeking access to internal documents created during the process of Bollor Group's 2022 sale of African transportation and logistics businesses to MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co., one of the world's largest container shipping groups. The core demands of this anti-corruption organization include verifying whether Morgan Stanley considered the 2021 Bollor Group bribery settlement in its asset valuation and obtaining the engagement letter to clarify the scope of services and fee arrangements in the asset divestiture transaction. RAF hopes to determine whether Morgan Stanley adequately considered relevant legal and compliance risks when providing valuation and advisory services for the assets. The alliance stated in the lawsuit documentation, "Access to these documents is crucial to determine whether Morgan Stanley effectively supervised and controlled this high-risk deal, or merely provided a stamp of approval without fulfilling necessary due diligence obligations." RAF has not ruled out formally filing criminal charges against Morgan Stanley under French law. In addition to Morgan Stanley, RAF has also sued the financial advisory firm Hottinguer, which was involved in the transaction, as well as HSBC HOLDINGS, Societe Generale and Crdit Mutuel, banks that have long provided banking services to the Bollor Group, in hopes of obtaining more evidence through litigation. These lawsuits may further expand the scope of the French financial prosecutor's investigation into Bollor and his eponymous group. RAF had previously reported to French authorities in 2025, accusing the Bollor Group of obtaining port concessions in five African countries through corrupt means. RAF believes that the port assets may involve proceeds of corruption, and therefore the sale of African logistics business for 5.7 billion euros might involve disposing of assets derived from corrupt activities and pose money laundering risks. Both Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale declined to comment on the lawsuits. The French financial prosecutor's office also declined to comment. The other banks involved and Bollor's lawyers have not yet responded to media inquiries. Bollor is facing legal risks beyond the current investigation. In December 2025, the French billionaire will stand trial in Paris for a bribery case involving port concessions in Togo. The case was initiated in 2018, and while the Bollor Group was initially part of the investigation, the group is no longer facing criminal charges after reaching a judicial settlement and paying a 12 million euro fine. One of the core allegations in the case is that Havas, a communications group controlled by Bollor, provided campaign advisory services to Togolese President Faure Gnassingb at a discounted price, after which the Bollor Group obtained operational concessions for local container terminals. RAF's lawyer Vincent Bavay stated, "The settlement document clearly indicates the existence of corrupt agreements. We want to understand how banks factored this into consideration when incorporating these assets into the sale transaction." To further build evidence against Bollor, RAF decided to investigate how banks managed the Bollor Group and its financial transactions that supported its logistics operations and sale transactions. Therefore, RAF requested internal documents from Societe Generale, HSBC HOLDINGS, and Crdit Mutuel to disclose the risk ratings they set for the Bollor Group and how these ratings changed after Bollor was prosecuted in 2018 and the group reached a judicial settlement in 2021. RAF pointed out that these banks had economic interests in maintaining long-term business relationships with the Bollor Group. According to data disclosed by the French media outlet lObservatoire des multinationales, the port concession projects in Togo and Guinea accumulated profits of around 130 million euros between 2015 and 2022, and these projects are related to the bribery case that is about to go to trial. RAF also requested the three banks to provide documents related to fund flows and clarify their specific roles in the settlement process of the 5.7 billion euro sale of African logistics business. In its writ against the three commercial banks, RAF stated, "This raises the question of whether these institutions assisted in the investment, concealment, or conversion of proceeds of crime in this process, and therefore bear legal responsibility." The Paris court is set to hear the application for document retrieval in September this year. If the court supports RAF's request, Morgan Stanley's due diligence, valuation methods, and advisory responsibilities in the 5.7 billion euro transaction may face further judicial scrutiny.